Oh, so Holden was muggleborn? That was interesting to know. Not that it mattered. Heath didn’t care one bit about blood status, but it did put things in a different perspective… unless Holden was just lying through his teeth to make everyone feel better. But Heath didn’t think he’d do that. It was admirable that he could see past the Black family’s blood supremacist ideology, but Heath didn’t think he had that in him, not after all he’d suffered because of that same ideology.

He glanced at his parchment as the answers were given, unsurprised to see he had them all right. Most of it was common knowledge; the rest came down to process of elimination. He considered Holden’s next set of questions carefully, zeroing in on the one about Regulus in particular because he saw most of himself in him. If Heath had to guess, he’d say Regulus probably changed sides for the same reasons he himself had stopped trying to please Rosier. He saw firsthand the pain that kind of ideology caused and realized that he no longer wanted the approval of people who would support it.

Before Heath could give his answer, his thoughts were derailed by that. You’re so right, he thought darkly, biting his lip to stop himself from scoffing. Holden had asked the wrong people, or person in this case. How could that know anything about loyalty? Heath’s face betrayed no sign of emotion, but inside he was seething, especially when he saw Evan’s hand tightening around his quill and Ash staring at her desk. Usually he would just keep quiet because he knew that was only trying to get a rise out of as many people as possible, but this time he had to say something!

“I agree with Quinn,” he said after raising his hand, his tone flat and devoid of emotion. “It’s great to think outside the box, but sometimes there are no shades of gray. Sometimes there’s only one interpretation of right and wrong…” He paused a moment before tying that into Holden’s question. “...and maybe that’s why Bellatrix Lestrange remained loyal to Voldemort. Maybe growing up with the blood supremacist views of the Black family didn’t equip her with the moral compass to see how wrong his cause was. Maybe she stayed because she never had to witness the pain the Death Eater ideology caused. Unlike Narcissa, who saw her only son recruited, or Regulus, who saw his family house elf used for Voldemort’s purposes. Or maybe it wasn’t the cause itself that drew her but the chaos and division that came with it. Maybe if not for Voldemort, she would’ve found another taboo cause to join simply because she liked causing trouble.”

He’d almost said, because she was an instigator, but that seemed a little on the nose. He’d said his piece, so he’d leave it there.

Valentina checked her answers aaand she had gotten a couple of them wrong. She wasn't really surprised though. Remembering historical facts and events and dates just wasn't her strong suit. She was busy doodling on her parchment when the professor started talking again. She forced herself to look up and pay attention, setting her quill down.

.. But, she chose to remain quiet as the others around her answered. The blonde didn't quite understand why they had to study their motives in the first place. Aren't they always biased towards their cause and what they believe in, be it right or wrong? But she definitely did not want to study Bellatrix's motivations at all. Ugh. Or Regulus. Or even Narcissa. The girl simply resumed with her doodling.

Simon smiled at Atlas as the boy offered his opinion. He LIKED hearing opinions whether they be differing and whatnot. He did not fault Atlas’ way of delivering what he had said. The boy was only thirteen. Holden did not expect him to have his words sharpened to a point. The material could be finessed. “Why not?” countered Simon before listening to Atlas explain his knowledge. The man found himself incredibly intrigued in the boy’s argument. And, in that moment, he decided that Atlas Flamsteed ought to see him after class to discuss Magical Debate Club. “Excellent points and articulation, well done Mr. Flamsteed.”

He turned to Apollo, very pleased with how this student was acting. “Yes, there’s a Muggle saying along the lines of an eye for an eye… rooted in human nature perhaps one could argue?” he suggested. “Fantastic point. Thank you.”

Nemesis was next to offer their opinion and boy was it an opinion. Simon could feel the room grow with tension. He had expected this and was prepared. He kept his tone neutral. “A confrontational statement. Aimed, perhaps, to stir up the rest of the classes emotions? An interesting tactic.” Upstead was a character - one that Simon found incredibly intriguing. He tilted his head to the side and paused before cautiously challenging the seventh year carefully. “Mr. Upstead, tell me who made you the Oracle on war? Surely it is your opinion….” He paused again when he heard Ivy’s comment and stopped himself. Miss Grimm was wise beyond her years. He turned his attention back to Mr. Upstead and looked at the boy who seemed uninterested in everything. Still….. what must have the seventh year gone through to feel such a way? Perplexing indeed…. “What is the purpose for a comment like that?” he added lightly. “If you are unable to voice a point of view without making it confrontational, then perhaps you should do well to remember that you may be dismissed and I will expect you to describe your view points it in a seven hundred word essay that will be on my desk by next Monday.. no later than noontime.” Did he make himself clear? If the Seventh year strayed further, points and detention would be in the conversation next.

Simon was impressed by Quinn’s statement. Another one for the debate club. Sure there was clearly emotion in her argument but she handled it with poise. “Well articulated. All of us are inherently biased.” And he left it at that.

He could always trust Claudine to get them back on topic. He offered her a kind, grateful smile and then listened to V. V’s answer helped take the point home even further. “Yes, Narcissa valued family above all else … that being Draco but not all families are like that… not all people have the same values or motivations. Thank you for bringing us back on track, Miss Blaze and Miss Gellar.”

Simon cast his ice blue eyes over to Ash who spoke next on Regulus Black. Ah yes… Regulus was a favourite of his. “Indeed. Thank you, Miss Fox.” The next student, Evan, earned a deadpan facial expression at first when he voiced his opinion. “It is all speculation or an opinion or interpretation but isn’t an essay the same, Mr. Nam?” he countered the boy’s logic. “Nevertheless a good perspective. Thank you.” Another student to recruit.

He turned his gaze to Serena, grateful that she steered the class back on topic. And then Ollie added a similar perspective with an additional theory thrown in there. He chuckled slightly. “Perhaps … but yes love- our emotions can sway our decisions…”

Charlie’s points earned a smile from him. Sometimes all you could do was survive. “Indeed, Miss Rivers. Loyalty can be for survival mechanisms…” Now they were headed down an interesting path. “And there may be great shame in just surviving and feel like they could have done more… A frustrating situation… but sometimes that is all you can do.. survive to live another day.” Hopefully none of the students felt shame for what had happened- it was out of their control. They were children after all.

Simon’s smile grew larger as Phoebe hit the point of the question firmly on the nose. He nodded thrice and his voice picked up in volume. “Fantastic, Miss James. Precisely the point. The point of these questions is to discuss bias. Because of bias… you must always have multiple sources especially for your essays.”

“Perhaps he did. He disagreed with his family so much that he was willing to oppose them through the Order,” he nodded at Miss Grimm’s comments.

Then Heath offered an answer in support of Quinn’s but expanded into so much more. “All tangible reasons and a well laid out argument, Mr. Jones. And yes, sometimes there is only one interpretation of right and wrong.” His eyes then cast to Valentina who seemed to be doing well.

Right.

Okay…… What next Simon? How do we proceed from here?

He paused, wondering how to move on, and then modified his lesson quickly. “Class. I’m well aware of the tension in the room,” he addressed it directly, thinking it to be the best thing to do. “There were great points about motivation and even some outside of scope of motivation but about the subject of history and bias…. Please remember these biases when you review any historical document.”

“While we may not all agree and while it may be uncomfortable, I thank you for voicing your opinion.” Simon pinched the bridge of his nose momentarily. “I’m going to go off script here … we talked about loyalty, love, survival, a desire to be different as motives…. But ultimately we saw a family torn apart by war which I’m sure many people saw recently. Sometimes differing parties cannot see the same point of view no matter how adept you are at the art of persuasion…”

“For our last question…. I will need you to imagine. Take the pre-reading assignment and source documents in mind and prepare yourselves for this question… It’s almost… historical fiction-esque. Take a deep breath too.” He waited. In fact, counted to twenty five before asking it. “Imagine how Andromeda and Sirius would have reacted, if they had known the truth about Regulus and Narcissa’s betrayal? How do you think Bellatrix would have reacted if she knew? Would she have turned on her sister? Provide the facts that would support your hypothesis. ”

OOC! WHEW! Thank you all- love reading the reactions. For this question, I’m going to give another 24 hours before moving on to our main activity. Thank you so far!!

There was... a lot more Evan wanted to say in regards to other answers provided, but given how much he was currently feeling - something he truthfully hated to do, he opted to keep his mouth shut for the most part. Keeping his eyes down on the desk in front of him and on his sheet of parchment with the beginning of his notes, and the other paper with their activity beside it. He was angry, he knew that much. But it wasn't for the initial reason he believed he'd been. He was angry with Holden, Recard, Healer Poppy and every other adult that seemed to think centering discussions around traumatic events so fresh for a group of adolescents in group settings was a wise decision. Was it a rational anger? No, probably not as bigotry was unfortunately a large portion of history and it would be hard pressed to find topics that didn't display it in some manner. But it was the feeling of a child, a 14 year old who still had scars, none the less.

He wondered if for a moment he should get himself kicked out of class as well, because frankly writing that essay Holden proposed to Nemesis sounded a whole lot better than sitting in through the rest of the lesson. It was something to consider, and he wasn't entirely above the idea though not yet ready to commit. Especially at Holden's counter point to his perspective, in which he couldn't resist adding - "That should depend on the type of essay, sir. An expository essay should be based on fact and results of research alone, while an argumentative essay would be one based on personal bias."

And then... the tension was being called out, and Ev's eyes once again dropped to his paper. The commentary about families torn apart just attacked his own guilt in a whole new way, and by the time they got to historical fiction, he was entirely done. He took that deep breath as instructed, before pulling his piece of paper towards him and writing down all the facts he knew about each of the Black family, both from the pre-reading and just from his own exploration into topics.

Facts. Just facts.

If there was tension, Nem was too preoccupied to notice, at least until they finally looked up. Even then, it was more a sense than a feeling; a finely tuned internal gauge which told them the pressure in the room had mounted, while never once requiring them to experience it first hand.

It had something to do with them. Nem watched the others, and knew without knowing that several were addressing them, or had already, but it was only Grimm whose eye they ended up catching.

Something they said? That did sound like them, but Nem was having trouble backtracking through their myriad thoughts to the exact ones that had been spoken aloud. They clicked their tongue, expression still empty, and considered the professor. A second later, they pushed to their feet. It wasn't that they felt particularly confrontational - or maybe they did, hard to say - but Nem wasn't about to pass up a perfectly legitimate chance to be on their feet and out of the door. The essay didn't deter them at in the slightest, though it was anyone's guess, whether anything would come of it.

Nem paused a moment before leaving, turning their pen over and over in their fingers. Words rushed through them, brain to lips to fingers and back again, multiplying with vigour and expanding with meaning, all fit for voice but failing to find an escape route, swarming their head until something inevitably, finally, slipped through. "You already decided its purpose."

It didn't do much to relieve the crowding of thoughts, but Nem was at the door before they could make such an assessment. Twirling the pen between their fingers, they checked their watch one last time before exiting the classroom. Perhaps it was almost time to talk.

The reason that Claudine had remained focused on the questions asked was because she was tired of all the talk that led to tenseness and no doubt raised tempers. Ever since that term where Rosier had taken over, there had been constant debates about right and wrong {she herself had been guilty of snapping at Nem on more than one occasions}. Blood status or anything related shouldn’t even matter. And she wished Nem would shut up; they could be so antagonising most of the time. Claudine nodded in reply to Holden’s words of thanks and tried to refocus on the lesson. The tenseness did not do anything to help her anxiety which was rearing its ugly head.

If anyone knew what different parties cannot see the same point of view, it was Claudine. The Blaze family, for the most parts, had sided with the Neo Alliance. Her family had been torn apart, yes, but in a different way than most would think: she had severed ties with her family since the day of the War and had never gone back to the Mansion since.

Even if Holden hadn’t suggested they do deep breathing, Claudine would have done so anyway. It was one of those coping mechanisms she’d found that helped with her anxiety. She took more than one deep breath, five to be exact. As she considered the next question, her eyes followed Nem exiting the classroom. Claudine rolled her eyes. Typical Nem. Probably thought they were better than everyone else here.

After a moment, she raised her hand. “Based on what we know of each of their personalities, I would reasonably like to think that Andromeda and Sirius would have at first refused to believe in Regulus and Narcissa’s betrayal. Only if they had seen it for themselves or had heard it from the people they actually trusted would they have eventually believed. As for Bellatrix… she would have not hesitated to harm either one. As we know, since she went to Azkaban for him, Bellatrix was highly devoted to Voldemort. Family meant nothing to her unless the members were on Voldemort’s side since she was more than happy to take any opportunity to make life difficult for Sirius."

Aries Flamsteed had dozed off.

History was as it always was ……boring than merlin’s grandma. While his twin debated and interacted and made valid points - Aries drooled down his arm - his hand barely keeping his head up. It was a blissful little nap too - ten minutes of wishful dreaming before he woke up to sleep inducing opinions.

He couldn’t keep his eyes open.

He just couldn't.

And when all felt out of hand, he rose his hand up. “Sir, can I be excused - I need to go wash my face”

Why not? Why not what? Why not those two? Atlas was struggling to follow the train of thought there, but usually when adults countered with that it was more likely to be a subliminal message to drop the subject. So he just shrugged his shoulders and slouched a little in his seat. He was all ready to put his plan into motion...when he glanced over and found his brother entirely passed out. Ugh. Fine. They could save the trial of his invention for another lesson.

...this one had...diverged into chaos more than enough anyway.

Not even the sage and compassionate words from one Phoebe James were enough to settle his stomach, though he sincerely hoped that the tension and bad memories did not cause him to throw up. He did not need to add another bodily fluid to his anxiousness repertoire.

But then Professor Holden continued to speak. No, not speak...but completely belittle and outright name call a student...and he felt unsafe. Unsafe like he had at the feast when the headmaster had done the same. Speaking of confrontational and all. Atlas also couldn't help but consider how the professor had purposefully picked a bit of a hot button topic that had required an introduction that...truth be told...Atlas had not entirely paid attention to. But still, the point of the matter was that...they, the majority of which had already been through a way, were being asked to put themselves in the shoes of the people in another war, which was something that very clearly stirred up emotions...an interesting tactic, one could say, to conduct a lesson.

Yeah...there was a lot of bias going around...all over the place...and here they were being asked to put themselves in the mindset of some of the more notorious minds and Death Eaters (still thinking about Bellatrix over here, speaking of bias) to pretend to pick apart motivations with unbiased viewpoints...but none seemed willing to do that for their own peer. What did...what did that say about all of them?

Atlas was pretty convinced now that he was a rubbish historian.

Atlas held his breath as Nem responded to the professor's ridicule...and felt his insides twist terribly and his head hung just a little lower on his neck like a turtle slowly pulling back into its shell. When Aries suddenly woke up, he too wanted to leave. Not to wash his face, not to follow Nemesis, but rather just go back to the dorm and hug Toby while laying in his bed with the curtains drawn so he could wallow in his guilt and self doubt.

He had no interest in imagining the past through the lens of historical fiction. The past was the past. What had happened had happened and playing out what if situations would not change that fact.

"Can I go with him? My brother. Help make sure he doesn't get too much soap in his eyes." Not to beg or anything, but Atlas was looking a bit pale and clammy.

Ash stared at her hands, barely acknowledging the question, barely noticing that Upstead was gone(good riddance). "I suppose Bellatrix would try and kill them, because she was loyal to a cause. After all, she did basically kill Sirius. Why wouldn't she do the same for her other family members? Some people hold causes above people. I'm sorta like that. But on a different side." She paused, wondering if she would kill her family members if they suddenly became evil. She figured that she would. "I don't know about Andromeda and Sirius. They'd probably have very complicated thoughts on it, and they might end up going in opposite directions." She rested her head on her hands and spoke up quietly. Her question wasn't entirely on topic, but it was important nevertheless. "Professor, how come it matters why people do things?" In her opinion, the end result mattered. The reason she respected Regulus a little was because he legitimately changed what he did, and died fixing his mistakes. Bellatrix could have a super compelling tragic backstory, and Ash wouldn't feel any pity. She wasn't on the right side.

Ash rested her head on her desk.

Violet was highly interested in today's lesson. Viewing history as more of a story, that could vary depending on the viewpoint of whoever was telling it, was a new and intriguing idea to her. It made history sound more like fiction--like writing, something she was indeed very interested in. So interested that she had been mulling over ideas in her head of writing a story based on the events of the struggle against the Neo-Alliance and not participating fully in class. Though she had managed to doodle out the answers to the set of questions the professor had set them. She was supposed to be distantly related to the Black family through her maternal grandmother, so she knew most of the answers without thinking too much about it (though the ones with more than one possible answer had made her think a bit).



Suddenly, realizing the class had moved along and a question had been asked, she managed to focus a bit more on what was going on here and now. Families torn apart by war a betrayal--now there was a theme she was intimately aware of right now.

"I think Andromeda and Sirius would have had a hard time believing their respective siblings would have turned against the Dark Lord, but I think they'd ultimately have been glad, and in the case of the Black sisters, maybe it could have paved the way to a reconciliation of sorts between them. And I'd like to think Sirius might have felt just a tiny bit mortified to learn that his brother cared more about the welfare of a house-elf than he ever did himself." Because, as far as she could tell from what she'd heard and read, Regulus had done what he did largely because of the way Voldemort treated the Black house-elf, and really, even now, how many people really saw elves as people in their own right?
"As for Bellatrix, she probably would have killed them, if she could, to avenge her Lord (and made sure he knew she'd done it so he'd see how loyal she was)."

Kinsay was, once again, a little disappointed that the lesson had less to do with art than she thought it would. Maybe it was her own fault for getting her hopes so high up, but. But well. Yeah. She did try to crane her neck a bit to get a better look at the portraits though - and she couldn’t help but agree with Professor Holden. They were beautiful people. Not as beautiful as he was (except Sirius Black, he was the PRETTIEST), but still. So when Atlas asked his question, Kins looked over his way and squinted a bit. Because. Because it sounded like he was making an accusation and assumptions and asking leading questions.

But if she thought that was uncomfortable, it was no match for what went down next regarding the subject of bias and loyalty and … other stuff. Kins had kind of been hoping that class would help distract her from how awful she felt about everything else and yet!!!! It wasn’t helping.

So trying her best to push away all the distractions (like how Nem was leaving and how Atlas was asking to go too and all the upset feelings she knew were existing around her), she raised her hand. ”Maybe they’d be surprised because … it seems so out of character.” But also, she couldn’t help but feel a tug of curiosity about something… relevant and important. ”Professor did Sirius Black still love his brother even though they were on different sides for a while?”

Because um. Yeah. Not that this had to do with anything personal. It was just ... a question about Sirius Black.

........

Nodding her head at Holden's acknowledging her answer to the previous question. Survival was key at the time, but after the fact she knew that you could go through all of the different instances you should have done something. She should have done something more last year. Pft Bellatrix would have killed her own family in an instant.

Her eyes tracked the twins as they requested to leave. She wondered if they were getting a bit sick because of the current conversation. She was going to answer but she was starting to wonder if the one...Aries was going to be sick.

With a shake of her head she answered, "Bellatrix, even if blindly loyal would have annihilated her family for their betrayal. She put loyalty to the cause over them. Seriously she didn't think she could ever kill her brothers or sister. They were her biggest allies.

Heath kept his eyes toward the front of the room, waiting, watching. No, not watching that, more watching what Holden’s reaction would be. For one fleeting moment, he thought the professor was going to let it slide. The man was still fairly new here after all, maybe too new to see what an instigator that was, but he was not disappointed. As he watched that exchange unfold, Heath’s respect for Professor Holden shot up tenfold. There was something satisfying about seeing Professor Holden challenge that, though he doubted the words or the essay would have any effect.

He tried to refocus his thoughts as Holden asked more questions. He silently stared at the paintings at the front, lost in thought for several moments. One of those questions was easy; the other not so much. After some careful consideration, he raised his hand and said, “There’s no doubt in my mind that Bellatrix would’ve turned on Narcissa. Based on everything we know of her, family ties took a backseat to her cause. She made no effort to help her brother-in-law escape the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, nor did she stand up for her family when Voldemort humiliated them while living at Malfoy Manor. While she did help her nephew when he was recruited, it seems clear that her motives were furthering the cause, not actual concern for his well-being. She killed her own cousin who opposed her, and if I’m not mistaken, she killed her niece in the Battle of Hogwarts as well. Given all this, I don’t think it’s a stretch that she would’ve killed Narcissa too.”

He paused to take a breath before addressing the other part of the question. “The other question is a bit harder to predict. Of the two, I think Andromeda would’ve been more likely to forgive Narcissa and Regulus had she known of their… defection.” He still couldn’t bring himself to call it a betrayal! “Given her marriage to a muggleborn, the way her daughter turned out, and the fact that Sirius considered her his only “true” family, I think we can safely say that Andromeda was a compassionate person. Though she wouldn’t have condoned their choices, I think she would have understood why they made them, and she would’ve been proud of them for defecting, possibly enough to give them a second chance.”

Heath paused again, choosing his next words carefully. “Sirius, on the other hand, lacked Andromeda’s degree of compassion -” He didn’t say that he had no compassion at all, just less than Andromeda. “- as evidenced by the way he mocked Severus Snape even into their adult years, the way he treated the family house elf, and the contempt he had for other members of his family. Given this, I doubt he would’ve believed that Narcissa and Regulus would defect, let alone offer any forgiveness or reconciliation.”

Did he really say all that?! That was probably the most he’d ever talked in a class! He blinked in a daze. Professor Holden did say to present facts to support their claim, so he did. Yeah, he was just gonna… not say anything else for a while. He stared at the desk in front of him, allowing his hair to fall forward and hide the blush rising to his face.

UM. Valentina felt a little overwhelmed as the lesson went on. The professor seemed to be a little upset, students were leaving and there was just this.. palpable tension in the air. She could feel it!! The gryffindor was busy staring at her parchment when professor Holden asked more questions.. Ugh, why. Honestly she'd kind of assumed they were done with class. Besides, didn't he start off talking about art in relation to history?? But now, they weren't even discussing art?? It was all very confusing for the blonde.

So she remained quiet, listening to people give their answers. Val kind of wished she was smart enough to give such detailed responses but history definitely wasn't something she was good at... so.. she'd rather just wait for Holden to continue.

Quinn felt a great sense of relief when Nem left the class. It felt like a bomb that was about to go off inside of her was slowly defusing. If they had said one more thing Quinn would've screamed. Actually screamed.

But people trying to defend them... that was something that irked Quinn as well. She took note, Phoebe James. Motives didn't matter. Actions did. But she could keep it to herself, for now.

Atlas's uncomfortability with the situation had also irked Quinn. She knew that Atlas was uncomfortable about these topics in general, but especially recently it had been a little tiresome. Ignoring or running away from it was just as bad, but... she knew he didn't mean any harm. He just... didn't know how to deal with it. She had sympathy for him, at least. But she might need to talk to him about it if the opportunity arose.

But now Quinn wasn't in the mood for answering another question. She was still a bit jittery from the last one... and she hadn't even answered the last one, really. But trying to give another answer while she was still humming with suppressed rage and adrenaline would be a bit embarrassing, so she just held her hands in her lap and listened.

Violet pricked up her ears when Kinsay asked that question, and she hoped the professor was going to answer it. Because that was something she would really like to know herself.

Simon looked to Evan who had offered a comment on the essay. He offered the logical, serious insect of a fourteen year old a small smile. “Perhaps you could write one on today’s subject?” he suggested, curious to see how the boy would react to the suggestion. History that was written like an instruction’s manual on how to turn on the microwave sounded rather… dull to him.

He was surprised when Nemesis got up to leave. He hadn’t been expecting him to just remove himself from the lecture and had been expecting to get far more pushback. Intriguing, he thought to himself as he watched the Slytherin leave. He did note the comment that Nemesis made. You already decided its purpose. Simon shook his head sadly. Nemesis has made the decision themselves.

Blue eyes flicked to Claudine. He did notice her deep breathing too and made a note to check in on the Slytherin later today or the next if she needed it. He nodded at the points she raised. Bellatrix probably would lean into her emotions and harm someone - even if she did care about them. “Unfortunate but sounds very much in Bellatrix’s nature to be so consumed by emotion to act… ” he commented. He turned his gaze to another student with an answer but instead found two students asking to leave.

He sighed and restrained himself from rolling his eyes LOUDLY. He didn’t know what was going on with the Flamsteed twins. To him, he just thought they were trying to get a free pass from being in class. He sighed, waving his hand to dismiss Aries. “You can leave. I do expect a roll of parchment on my desk about this subject no later than noontime on Friday. That goes for you as well, Atlas.” He ran a hand through his hair momentarily and waited for them to leave before continuing with his lecture. Simon planned on recapping the events of the lesson to his wife and a few of his peers. But the show and the lecture must go on.

Once they left, he paused before moving on to Ash’s response. Simon did have to blink when Ash said that she was like Bellatrix but on a different side of it all. “I know what you mean...” Or at least he could understand what she meant and didn’t think she was saying that she were like Bellatrix. Now … Ash’s question cause an eyebrow. How come it matters why people do things?

“Because Miss Fox.. like what art can do for history… understanding why people do what they do helps us understand as societies and individual beings why our societies are the way they are and what they value.” Another nugget of wisdom from Watson.

Violet’s perspective was intriguing and it warmed him a little to hear that she thought that Andromeda and Sirius may have not believed their siblings at first but would have been grateful for them in the end. He’d agree with that. He was sure based on records of their personalities that things would be better. “I’d like to think so too in the case of Andromeda and Sirius… It would be nice to have some closure.” He then turned his attention to Kinsay who said that it seemed out of character. It did seem very much so out of character for them. Her question about Sirius and Regulus did stump him slightly. He paused, considering how to answer such a wholesome question. Professor…did Sirius Black still love his brother even though they were on different sides for a while? He replayed her question. “I think so… Based one what we know of records… Sirius didn’t say his brother was a terrible person. He did refer to Regulus as a fool for joining the Death Eaters but he mentioned that he had been influenced by his parents views. I quote ‘my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them... that's him. He was younger than me, and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded’.” He recited the quote directly from a few source texts that he had pulled as evidence for the lecture. He paused. “Perhaps the use of the word ‘idiot’ could be hard but Sirius referred to some of his closest mates as such so I’m interpreting it as a term of endearment. So yes, I think he did… Sirius Black also never said that Regulus wasn’t family.” He smiled gently.

Simon looked to Charlie and nodded. It did seem very in character for Bellatrix to turn on her loved ones. “Unfortunately some friends and family can be so fixated on a vision, a way of living, or surviving that they could damage the ones they love and never see it as such.” Now Simon was impressed with Heath’s detailed explanation using the facts. He had not just answered one but all of his questions. “Agreed. All accounts of Andromeda suggest that she would have been more receptive and more forgiving than Sirius. He was known to be stubborn…” And a troublemaker too but that was a story for another day. “Well done.” Mr. Jones should consider joining the Debate club.

His blue eyes looked to a few silent students briefly before pausing once more. “Our final activity will not be a debate.. I think we’ve had our share of discussions today. Instead I’ve modified slightly to give you two options. The first is to work in a group of five to re-enact a dinner party with the five members of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. The second is you can take some materials from the cupboard over there and create a collage of a scene for the five of them together. It could be from a famous interaction in history or even a speculation of an event that happened.” As he spoke, he pointed to the cupboard to the left of him and moved his hand to unlock it. Inside the cupboard, you will find plenty of materials for arts and crafts.

OOC: Alrightie!! Last section of the class today is the Main-Activity!! Your choice whether or not you’d like to work in a small group and RP a family dinner with members of the Black Family orrrr if your charrie would prefer to do some arts and crafts to recreate a scene from their lives! Simon will be walking around the room and inspecting but you’ve got 72 hours to complete this!

Evan wasn't sure if the offer to write an expository essay was a challenge on the Professor's part for the boy to find that boring or to give a subtle threat to stop pushing back and focus on the assignment offered. But truthfully, it was a fine suggestion to him. And if the Professor rather him work on that for the rest of the class period instead of the other assignment, he was certainly happy to do so. But he also didn't actually think that was what he meant, and it seemed more like an extra thing. Which... he was never one to shy away from, so he simply straightened his shoulders a bit. "Okay." And then because he didn't want to risk sounding disrespectful he added after, "Sir."

But since he assumed this was not an in place of the current option, he pushed up from his seat without hesitation after assignment was explained, heading towards the cupboard that was pointed out and grabbing a black piece of paper with a white marker. He still wasn't a very good artist, but he could certainly try. And drawing out the image he was considering seemed easier to him than anything else. As an after thought, he also grabbed two sheets of green paper and one red and took it all back to his seat.

He couldn't remember a moment in history in which all five of the aforementioned members of the family had been together. But that didn't mean he couldn't make an artistic compilation of the facts about them. So he began drawing it out, drawing the locket of Salazar Slytherin (the representation of Regulus) hanging over the middle of the page and coming to about half way, before drawing Bellatrix Lestrange underneath it - penning 'ha ha ha's' underneath her to indicate it was her by her callous laughter. There was a smaller figure marked as looking from a behind view, as if the figure was walking away from the rest of the subjects. Narcissa, turning her back on her sister and the order they'd both joined in favor of her son. To make it clear that was her, Evan also added a small child beside the figure, holding it's mother's hand. Draco.

And then came Sirius, on side of the laughing Bellatrix thin lined. For this one, Evan ripped off a piece of the red, gluing it on one side so that it could be lifted like a flap. Sirius, and the veil he disappeared into. Red, the sign of blood for death, and yet also red for Gryffindor. On the other side of Bellatrix, more forefront than Narcissa and Draco, he draw Andromeda, with another two thin lined figures behind her. Her husband, and her daughter, both also killed by Bellatrix Lestrange just as Sirius had been. He added small rips of green to each of the figures, signifying their affiliations with house Slytherin (and even retrieving some yellow for Tonks and her Hufflepuff-ness) before going back over Narcissa, the Locket, Bellatrix and Andromeda to deepen the lines, trying to distinguish who was alive and who had passed. It was entirely elaborate, but he was pleased with it enough.

And since he technically had finished the assignment, he then proceeded to work on that proposed essay, his text opening to 451 as he began his outline.

For the life of him, Aries couldn't read the room -- he was just THAT sleepy. So much so that when Atlas latched on to leave with him - he didn't even huff that he was not a toddler who would get SOAP in his eyes -- because, in reality, he could barely keep his eyes open and that meant he might just sleep with soap in his eyes.

How awesome was his brother to look out for him like this?

AND JUST HOW AWESOME WAS PROFESSOR NORMAN TO BE SO UNDERSTANDING OF HIS SITUATION!

Beaming and oblivious as ever, Aries got up - tugging at Atlas' sleeve to follow, "thanks, professor - you are the coolest"

And out he went.

Claudine, though she would not say anything out loud, would appreciate Holden checking up on her. After all, he hadn’t been around long enough to realise certain situations brought anxiety to her, and that sometimes it took everything out of her not to have an anxiety attack. Thankfully she managed to control this one and went on listening to the other answers given. It was a relief to hear that their final activity would not be involving any debating otherwise Claudine might have channeled her inner Nem and walked out.

The first option was discarded with haste - the introvert in her rejected that in like a second - but the artist in her rejoiced over the second option. She loved it when professors would let art be a part of their lessons. So… what scene should she work with? Regulus had lived from 1961 to 1979 so that meant her collage could be of their interaction of sometime then. Hmmm. Maybe she could do a gathering of the five shortly after Regulus’ birth?

Claudine mulled over the possibility as she moved to the cupboard to collect the necessary supplies.

"Mmm." Ash scribbled the professor's words down so that they'd stand out in her memory. "Does that matter if you're trying to figure out how good or bad someone's actions are, I mean?" And he couldn't tell her that that good and bad were 'subjective', torture was always wrong(no matter the circumstances). Well? Did it?

She turned back to the activity, choosing to draw instead of collaborating with someone. She already knew what she wanted to draw. Death. There was Young Regulus sitting slumped next to Sirius, cold white hands tugging on his feet as her held onto his brother. Sirius holding onto his brother as he fell over backwards in his chair... into a weird void thing. Bellatrix Lestrange, drinking tea as she disintegrated like in that one superhero movie. Super old versions of Andromeda and Narcissa feeding small children in the background. Yeah, it would be a weird drawing, not at all meant to be realistic. It was almost like one of Ash's dreams. She got to work.

He felt like he may throw up.

The room was spinning and as Professor Holden dismissed himself and his brother, Atlas found his hand resting atop his brother's shoulder for support ... because he literally felt like his legs may give out from the heaviness of all that he felt. His peers' words...their looks...the assumptions and accusations he could feel singing his skin like Fiendfye (at least that was how things manifested in his dreams, vivid imagination and all) only served to intensify the moment, cause his breathing to become more strained, and burden his already heavy steps.

If Aries hadn't have asked about leaving class, the thought would have never crossed the third year's mind and he truly was not sure how he would have gotten through the rest of the lesson - especially seeing as now the assignment was role playing. It was a little too on the nose for the Gryffindor right now and his brother was once again coming through and protecting Atlas just when he needed it the post.

How...irritating but also never stop, please.

He barely offered the professor a nod, his things still laid out on the desk and forgotten, and out Atlas went too.

With the basics of her idea set, Claudine got to work. She’d opted to use cardboard as it would be bigger than regular paper or parchment and there would be enough room for her to get things done. What she would also need were calculations of the ages of the other four because she wanted to get the ages correct at the time which this little event might have occurred. Claudine started off with a sketch of an overstuffed armchair. In it, sat a pretty young woman in her early teens wearing a green dress {her hair would later be coloured brown}. This was Andromeda. In her arms was a new born baby, tufts of black hair peeking out from under the blanket in which he was wrapped. Andromeda was smiling down softly at his sleeping form.

Perched on one arm of the chair was Regulus’ older brother, Sirius, who was two years old at the time. He was gripping the armchair very tightly with chubby fists to keep from overbalancing. His face wore an expression of fascination as he stared down at the baby. Blonde haired Narcissa, about six years old, had one of her fingers stuck in the grasp of Regulus. Rather than being annoyed, she was smiling at him as she was rather taken with his tiny fist. Only ten year old Bellatrix with her long dark hair bore any form of negative expression. She was scowling at Regulus as though annoyed by his presence.

Claudine sat back, admiring her work. She was proud of herself for she thought that her artistic skills had greatly improved over time. Now it was time to add the finishing touches and to add colours to the image. The girl got back to work, working as quickly as possible to compete it before time ran out.

Heath had no idea where this lesson was going from here, but whatever it was, he hoped it wasn’t more debating. Coming up with facts to support his point was exhausting after a while, and the flaring tempers and emotions that came with debate were even more exhausting. He listened intently as Holden gave the next set of instructions, and his mood instantly brightened. Not only was it not a debate, but there was an opportunity to show off his acting skills. Best lesson ever!

Already the wheels inside Heath’s head were turning. Dinner party with all five members of the Black family… The only time that all of those people would have conceivably been together for a dinner party was prior to Andromeda’s disowning. He knew that her daughter, Nymphadora Tonks, was born in 1973, so she would’ve had to have been disowned before that… which would’ve made Sirius and Regulus very young when it happened. Hmm, this was going to be a challenge! He knew he wanted to play Regulus, but he’d never played a character younger than himself before. Could he pull it off?

Then there was the question of what happened at this dinner party. He thought for several moments, and - Ooh, he had it! What if the party happened on the day Andromeda was disowned? Maybe she announced her engagement (marriage?) to Ted Tonks at the party, and the skit could show the family’s reaction to the news. Yeah, that was good! Now he just needed four more people to play the rest of the Black family. Normally Heath would shy away from group work, but this sounded too fun to pass up. Dark eyes darting about the room in search of people who weren’t already working on collages, he said, “Does anyone else want to do a re-enactment?”

A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he raised his hand. “Professor, are we supposed to perform for the entire class or just re-enact the scene amongst ourselves?” he asked. Holden hadn’t said, and he wanted to make sure he did this right!

She really hadn't wanted to get up and act anything out. Todays heated discussions was enough for her. Come on you couldn't blame her in the slightest. However, hearing Heath wanted to reenact the situation made her smile. He always was good at doing those sorts of things. Going to the cupboard she grabbed some items to make a collage of pieces representing the betrayal by Narcissa because she could make that look extremely similar and not have to try. too hard artistically. She was good at 3d art not, drawing.